The Brief

Eight months ago, a fire broke out at a massive World War II-era hangar in Tustin, spewing toxic smoke into the air and sending asbestos-laden debris raining over the surrounding communities. LAist has now mapped just how far and wide that debris fell and which neighborhoods bore the brunt of the fallout, based on data obtained by LAist from the city of Tustin.

The data illustrate the chaotic nature of the cleanup, and the panic and frustration felt by many residents as they sought help and guidance in navigating a major disaster. It affected an estimated 14,000 people and had potentially serious health consequences.

In all, the records show people reported ash and debris from the fire as far as 10 miles from the hangar, although the vast majority of reports were within three miles.

Explore the map

This is the first publicly available map showing the spread of where fire debris was reported across the county, based on public records. The fire, which started on Nov. 7 and lasted for 24 days, torched one of the largest wooden structures ever built — 17 stories high and covering an area larger than five football fields.

The cleanup — which is still underway more than eight months after the fire broke out — has so far cost taxpayers around $90 million, according to Tustin officials. The bulk of that sum has been spent to remove debris presumed to contain asbestos, once considered a "wonder material" and used widely. It's now known to cause lung disease and cancer.

Hundreds of workers have spent months combing the surrounding neighborhoods in hazmat suits, searching through bushes for chunks of charred, fibrous debris (a sign that it may contain asbestos), vacuuming ash off patios, and in some cases, hauling away soot-covered lawn furniture and cushions, which can't be fully cleaned of asbestos.

"It was a tremendous undertaking," said Tustin Mayor Austin Lumbard. "We've made so much progress over these last months, and I'm very proud of it."

Multiple state and federal agencies were involved in developing and implementing the cleanup protocols, which officials say sought to balance safety with speed as they dealt with hundreds of cleanup requests daily in the first few weeks of the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Nearly 1,400 addresses mapped

Through public records requests, LAist identified 1,382 addresses where either a resident reported debris from the hangar fire or a city contractor inspected a property for fire debris. The vast majority of the addresses correspond to private homes, but the data also includes parks, businesses and schools.

The largest concentration of reports was from Columbus Square, the neighborhood directly north of the hangar site.

People reported debris as far north as the Anaheim Hills and as far west as Foothill Ranch — both about 10 miles away from the burn site.

Workers hired by a condo association clean the exterior of homes in Columbus Square after testing in December found asbestos and lead.

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It’s important to note that the city's records for these and hundreds of other addresses where debris was reported are incomplete: Often, the records were not updated following inspection, making it hard to determine whether debris was found, and whether that debris likely contained asbestos, according to the records given to LAist by the city.

Because of this, it's unclear exactly how far away from the fire asbestos-containing debris was confirmed. But documents obtained by LAist from the Orange County Fire Authority show that debris containing asbestos was confirmed at least three miles northeast of the hangar, likely carried by Santa Ana winds that blew in the days following the fire break-out.

How did the fire start?

The Orange County Fire Authority was alerted in the early hours of Nov. 7 to a fire at one of two historic hangars that housed blimps used to patrol for enemy submarines off the U.S. coastline during World War II. The hangars were commissioned in 1942. Because of wartime steel rationing, they were built almost entirely of wood — 2.7 million board feet each. That's roughly equivalent to the amount of timber contained in four-and-a-half General Sherman giant sequoias or about 5,400 average size homes.

A historic view of the sprawling interior of one of the blimp hangers at the former military base.

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When firefighters arrived on scene, they could find no working hydrant near the smoking hangar, according to fire authority records obtained by LAist. The hangar was equipped with a sprinkler system, but it was "non-operational," according to Navy spokesperson Christopher Dunne. Dunne told LAist that utilities on the former military base, including water systems, were transferred to the city of Tustin in May 2002.

Using fire engines and two water-dropping helicopters, more than 100 firefighters fought the blaze. But they ultimately decided to let it burn out, in part because of the risk to first responders that the structure would collapse.

Despite ample documentation from the Navy and the city of Tustin showing that asbestos, lead paint and chemicals were used extensively throughout the building, officials did not initially warn residents and onlookers that smoke and debris from the fire could be particularly dangerous.

Cars, trucks and apartment buildings near the remaining Tustin hangar offer a sense of scope: The hangar that burned down was built with the same amount of lumber it would take to build about 5,400 average-sized homes.

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The historic blimp hangar, at right, seen as it burned on Nov. 7, 2023.

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As the building burned, nearby residents, veterans and others with sentimental ties to the former Tustin air base flocked to the fenceline to get a final glimpse of the beloved hangars.

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A closer look at the damaged hull left behind.

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As the building burned, nearby residents, veterans and others with sentimental ties to the former Tustin air base flocked to the fenceline to get a final glimpse of the beloved hangars. Children at nearby elementary schools collected chunks of the charred hangar as mementos. Gardeners unwittingly spread debris around with leaf blowers.

It wasn't until nearly two days after the fire broke out that the South Coast Air Quality Management District released the results of testing showing that some fire debris contained up to 37% asbestos. Subsequent testing would find fire debris that contained up to 75% asbestos, according to documents obtained by LAist from the county fire authority.

When breathed in, asbestos fibers can become lodged in the lungs and cause serious health consequences that often don't show up until decades later. Asbestos exposure is linked to more than 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Other official testing from the early days of the fire found trace amounts of asbestos in air samples, and elevated levels of lead and other heavy metals inside the smoke plume, although subsequent air quality testing was within normal parameters.

The test results kicked the fire response into high gear.

The city declared a local state of emergency and closed all parks. The Tustin Unified School District temporarily closed all of its schools and implemented distance learning. The Orange County Health Care Agency advised people to stay indoors, keep windows closed, and avoid touching ash or debris from the fire. Some people would end up waiting weeks for city contractors to remove toxic debris from their front porches, yards and balconies.

How bureaucracy complicated the cleanup

The cleanup has faced challenges from the beginning, in part because of the web of agencies and jurisdictions involved and the sheer spread of the debris as documented in the map. Since the military base closed in 1999, much of the land has been sold off and turned into shopping centers, schools, apartments and neighborhoods — including many of those heavily affected by toxic fire debris.

But the Navy has retained ownership of both hangars and the land immediately surrounding them, while it monitors the status of groundwater contaminants stemming from their former use. The contaminants are primarily per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and trichloroethylene (TCE). (The contaminated groundwater underneath the former Tustin base is not used for drinking water.)

Hundreds of workers toiled daily during the weeks following the hangar fire breakout, collecting and bagging potentially toxic debris.

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The Navy, however, doesn't maintain the base, so the county and city of Tustin were forced to take charge of the fire and the subsequent cleanup.

The cleanup has also been complicated because asbestos remediation is highly regulated. Cleanup plans require approval from the local Air Quality Management District, and anyone who oversees testing or removal of asbestos must be certified by the state.

The voices of panic, frustration

On Nov. 12, five days after the fire broke out, asbestos contractors began cleaning up debris in public areas around the hangar site.

By then, residents were desperate to know whether they had asbestos debris in their yards and inside their homes, and if so, how to get it properly cleaned.

On Nov. 14, the city announced it was launching a call center and online form where residents could report debris and request a cleanup. The city reported receiving 853 cleanup requests in the first three days, according to a memo from O.C. fire division chief Craig Covey.

Contractors wouldn't start picking up debris on private property until two weeks after the fire broke out, according to city records.

An LAist review of reports that came through the city's call center and debris reporting portal from Nov. 14 through Jan. 9 highlights residents' distress over the toxicity of fallout that covered roofs, patios, and yards. In some cases, residents reported that ash and debris got inside their homes.

"Our front patio, balcony above the garage, window sills inside and out, windows (inside and out) our air and HVAC ducts, on our driveway, our garage door, garage floor and exterior doors," one resident reported to the city on Nov. 17, documenting where they had found fire remnants.

Another reported on Dec. 7 that they were having severe "upper respiratory symptoms and would really appreciate you coming as soon as possible."

Some residents became frustrated after making multiple requests for cleanup. One resident reported to the city on Nov. 22: "This is my third submission. I need someone to inspect the ash on our patio and deck and roof and clean. I am a high-risk individual and have been displaced (staying elsewhere) because of this."

Reports also came in from neighboring Irvine, including from one woman who said she and her kids went to the hospital because of respiratory problems during the fire. She said it had been "impossible" to breathe at home. "We have very old windows and all ashes and small pieces of debris entered in my home," she wrote.

The limitations of the cleanup

The cleanup in residential areas has dragged on for months, and the city's asbestos contractors often went out to addresses multiple times, according to records reviewed by LAist. Residents were required to be present and sign a waiver giving workers permission to enter the exterior part of their property to assess and remove fire debris. If contractors found no one home, they would leave a flier on the door with a QR code inviting the resident to re-submit a request for cleanup. Many residents were frustrated with the process.

There was "no real definitive date or time from like a scheduling or RSVP perspective," Jeff Lawrence, a Columbus Square resident, told LAist in December.

The city's asbestos contractors did not clean rooftops or second story balconies, according to Stephanie Najera, a spokesperson for the city of Tustin. Najera wrote in an email to LAist that the cleanup "prioritized prompt and safe removal of debris from accessible ground-level areas, where the greatest potential existed for contact with the material."

But interviews with residents and records show that debris often didn't stay put in inaccessible places. Some residents filed follow-up requests after rain or wind brought debris into areas that had already been cleaned. Rooftops were a major source of this recontamination.

In one cleanup request filed with the city on Nov. 16, the resident wrote: "Cleaning crew came today but did not remove from my front patio, second story patio or roof. Now that it has rained, my rain gutters are full and clogged with debris that was on the roof, causing the debris to overflow and cover the ground again."

Lawrence, in a recent email to LAist, wrote of the repeat cleanups: "It’s literally a joke. Instead of doing it right the first time they properly wasted millions of dollars doing it the wrong way."

Documentation of the work done at individual homes was often sparse, according to interviews with residents and the city records reviewed by LAist.

When clean-up crews arrived at Lawrence's home in late November, workers advised him that the outdoor couches and other patio furniture in his backyard were contaminated and should be thrown away. But Lawrence said the workers provided no documentation of what they took or of the other remediation work they did on his property, which could be important for things like insurance claims and future liability.

"Other than our own, you know, security cameras, we have nothing that shows that they took anything or did anything or what they cleaned, what they didn't," he told LAist.

The city's asbestos contractors also generally did not test fire debris on private property for asbestos, despite residents' expectations that they would.

Initially, the city's published information — on their website and on fliers — about the cleanup process explained to residents that an asbestos specialist would visit their home, collect samples of debris for testing, and then advise them whether or not the debris had asbestos. If so, a cleanup crew would be dispatched back to the home.

In reality, the city's asbestos contractors primarily relied on visual inspections, according to Najera, to assess whether debris was likely to contain asbestos.

That left some residents anxious and uncertain about their safety.

"HELP US!!!!!" one resident wrote to the city on Nov. 22, in all caps. "WE HAVE NOW CONTACTED THIS ‘PORTAL’ THREE TIMES WITH NO RESPONSE! WE HAVE ASBESTOS IN OUR BACKYARD AND NO ONE HAS COME TO TEST IT OR CLEAN IT UP DESPITE OUR NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS AND SUBMISSIONS FOR HELP!!!!!!"

Lawrence, for his part, ended up paying private companies to test his home for asbestos in mid-November and mid-December. They documented asbestos-laden fire debris on the roof, in the gutters, and in the backyard, according to their reports, which were reviewed by LAist. They did not find asbestos in dust samples taken inside his home.

The cleanup bill totalled $12,718, which Lawrence's insurance covered. He told LAist in an email that his family still has "thousands of dollars" in claims stemming from the tossed patio furniture and other losses from the fire.

Najera told LAist in an email that the city's contracted asbestos specialists and remediation teams responded to all reports of debris. She said "the cleanup methodology and documentation protocols were approved by the federal EPA, state Department of Toxic Substances Control, the South Coast Air Quality District, and the Orange County Health Care Agency."

What the city’s test results found

In the weeks following the hangar fire, Lumbard, Tustin's mayor, repeatedly asked for help from the state and the Navy to deal with what he called an unprecedented disaster for the small city with a population of 78,000. The state declined to issue a disaster declaration related to the hangar fire, which could have opened up federal funding and other assistance for the city and its affected residents and businesses.

State Sen. Josh Newman later took up the effort, crafting a resolution urging President Joe Biden to declare the hangar fire a national emergency "to address the ongoing impacts on public health, the environment, and the local economy." The resolution, which passed through the state legislature on July 1, also asks the president and Congress to dedicate $100 million in supplemental funding for the cleanup effort.

Lumbard, in an interview with LAist, said the city was forced to handle an emergency not of its making.

"This is ultimately the Navy's responsibility," Lumbard said of the fire and the cleanup. "I'm just proud of the way the city was able to step up in a void of leadership and take action because our community needed help."

Earlier this year — several months after the hangar fire finally burnt out — Tustin hired experts to test outdoor soil and indoor dust and air samples at 50 homes near the hangar site. In May, they announced the results, saying that "no asbestos fibers were identified in soil, indoor air, or indoor dust above health screening criteria in any of the 80 homes."

Still, the debate over the fire's impact on residents' health and finances is far from over — at least two class action lawsuits and an unknown number of individual claims are in the works.

And the cleanup is not over. The Navy plans to finish dismantling the torched hangar and begin removing toxic debris from the former military base on Monday.

It's expected to take up to a year.

Maloy Moore and Brian Frank also contributed to this report.

One Hollywood icon is prepping for a comeback. The Cinerama Dome – one of the most famous movie theaters in the world – has been closed since the COVID pandemic. But it's now got a new lease on life, thanks to SONY Pictures and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

The studio announced it will lease, restore and reopen the famous theater in 2028; Alamo Drafthouse plans to program and operate it and 14 other screens at the adjoining multiplex.

"Hot damn! We're bringing the Dome back, baby," SONY Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group CEO Tom Rothman said in a statement. "We believe in moviegoing down to our soul, and no venue on Earth stands more for that than the one-of-a-kind Dome."

"There's a lot of passion behind this theater," says Michael O'Leary, who heads Cinema United, the global association of movie theater owners. He says while the Cinerama Dome's closing was a symbol of the pandemic, its recovery is proof the pandemic is behind us and movie theater-going is back.

"It's really exciting," agrees Escott Norton, former executive director and current board member of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation. "There's been a lot of people waiting with baited breath to see when the dome is going to reopen. People think of this as the ultimate Hollywood experience."

As an LA native and former film production designer, Norton has great memories of going to the Cinerama Dome. He says it was always an immersive experience to watch movies inside the geodesic-shaped auditorium designed to show wide screen movies.

"When I saw Close Encounters on this giant screen curved around me, it knocked my socks off," he says, adding he was also blown away watching Apocalypse Now at the Dome. "The movie opens up with this wide screen of just a quiet jungle, birds tweeting and then it explodes. Being surrounded by that on the curved screen, it still gives me tingles thinking about it."

The Cinerama Dome in October 2021.

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The Cinerama Dome was built in 1963 by William Forman – the founder of Pacific Theaters, who had popularized drive-in cinemas. Forman commissioned a French architect who had studied under R. Buckminster Fuller, a designer of other geodesic structures. The theater was originally made to showcase Cinerama, a format developed in the 1950s that was part of the widescreen craze designed to lure viewers away from television and back to cinemas.

Forman was able to get the theater constructed in 16 weeks … just in time for the world premiere of a madcap comedy called, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The movie ran four hours long, with an intermission. Filmmakers had originally planned to use the Cinerama format, but abandoned it, shooting in Ultra Panavision 70 millimeter instead.

Still, it featured a who's who of comedy at the time – including Sid Caesar, Edie Adams, Milton Berle, and Buddy Hackett. Buster Keaton even makes a ten second cameo. "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World played at the Cinerama Dome, the brand new theater, for two years without stopping," recalled Karen Sharpe, the widow of the movie's director, Stanley Kramer. The former TV actress and producer spoke at a rally to preserve the Cinerama Dome last year, and talked about the star-studded premiere.

"It was a real happening," she remembered. "Bobby Kennedy came, Adlai Stevenson came and President and Mrs. Kennedy accepted the invitation to attend the opening. A few days before, they called to say 'So sorry, we have to [decline] the invitation because President and Mrs. Kennedy have to go to Dallas.' And we know what happened in Dallas."

Over the decades, the theater became a mecca for cinephiles. The dome was sometimes costumed like the movies it screened. Once, a replica Godzilla appeared to burst through the egg-like roof. Another time it was painted green with ears to resemble Shrek's head. Figures depicting the Pink Panther, Spider Man and the Minions have perched or crawled atop the Dome.

And fans were treated to countless premieres and special events, like when filmmaker Quentin Tarantino personally welcomed audiences to his 2019 feature Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. For the film, he included exterior shots of the Dome.

Two years later, after the Cinerama Dome's operators went bankrupt during the pandemic, Tarantino talked about how it was one of his favorite LA landmarks.

"I don't know if I could 100% afford it, but I would love to own the Cinerama Dome," he said on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM. "That would be fantastic."

Tarantino already owns two other historic LA cinemas. But other preservationists and activists have been working to revive the dormant theater. Many of them credit the efforts of Benjamin Steinberg, a 27-year-old filmmaker and actor who appeared on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

"The Cinerama Dome is the most famous movie theater in the world," Steinberg said, standing outside the boarded-up theater. "It seemed like it was going to be a demolition by neglect. So I was, like, something has to be done."

Steinberg created a campaign to save the Cinerama Dome. He organized a few street rallies, and wrote an online petition that amassed more than 30,000 signatures.

Ben Steinberg projected images onto the dome as part of a campaign to save the theater.

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Then in March, Steinberg went even further to get the attention of the Forman family, which still owns the property: he projected images of the owners' faces onto the outside of the Dome, asking them to reopen the theater.

"We actually projected it for two hours and then they called the police on us," Steinberg explains. "We didn't get arrested; The police just said that the ownership considered it an escalation and harassment. I never wanted to anger the owner, so we stopped immediately."

Steinberg's stunt created a lot of buzz, and may have moved the needle, says theater preservationist Norton. His group had been consulting with architects on restoration plans in hopes that someone would save the day.

"We were all working behind the scenes. But Ben Steinberg really got on board on social media to save the dome," says Norton. "I'm very happy he did. You know, you sort of have to rattle the chains sometimes."

Meanwhile, Sony has promised to preserve the Cinerama Dome's history while ensuring its future.
Copyright 2026 NPR

A pair of federal court battles unfolding in the coming weeks could reshape the future of homelessness funding across the Los Angeles region.

Two separate lawsuits challenging recent actions by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will help determine whether L.A.’s embattled lead homelessness agency can compete for up to $241 million in federal grants this year and how that money can be spent.

Both legal challenges reflect a broader fight over the Trump administration's efforts to remake federal homelessness policy and crack down on perceived misspending by local governments overseeing federal assistance programs.

Will lead L.A. agency stay suspended?

The lawsuits center on HUD’s national Continuum of Care grant competition, the largest source of federal homelessness dollars flowing to L.A. each year.

Since the 1990s, HUD has required metropolitan areas like L.A. County to submit one single application for the region’s entire chunk of annual funding. The L.A. Homeless Services Authority, known as LAHSA, has been responsible for submitting that application on behalf of the region.

That changed in June, when HUD suspended LAHSA from federal grant activity pending a federal investigation into alleged financial mismanagement. The federal agency said LAHSA’s suspension meant it was not allowed to apply for this year’s grants, even though the agency has been working on an application.

LAHSA sued to overturn the suspension and is moving forward with its application while awaiting guidance from the court. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has scheduled a hearing for Aug. 6 on LAHSA’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

HUD has since formally invited homeless service providers to apply directly for the federal homelessness money, bypassing LAHSA entirely.

Meanwhile, the L.A. County Development Authority has offered to apply for the region instead of LAHSA, if necessary.

HUD’s application deadline is Aug. 26. That’s when LAHSA, or an alternative applicant, would submit its final application to the federal government.

Shift away from permanent housing

The second lawsuit between HUD and local officials focuses on how federal homelessness dollars can be spent.

The L.A. Continuum of Care historically spends about 90% of its more than $200 million federal funding allocation on permanent housing interventions — including subsidies to help cover people’s rent, according to LAHSA.

That approach is part of a philosophy and strategy known as “housing first,” which prioritizes providing unhoused people with a stable place to live as the first step towards recovery from life on the streets. Additional issues, like unemployment, addiction, mental illness or other health problems, are typically addressed only after first moving someone indoors.

But that approach is now under fire from the Trump Administration, which has made multiple attempts to remake the federal Continuum of Care program to fund fewer permanent housing beds and focus more on drug treatment, recovery and enforcement.

As the Trump administration geared up to pivot away from the “housing first” model, HUD initially proposed rules limiting permanent housing to 30% of local spending. Last year, the city of L.A. and other municipalities joined litigation challenging the HUD guidance.

This June, Judge Mary McElroy struck down the proposed HUD rules, but denied cities’ request for a permanent injunction.

HUD had already issued new grant regulations, this time capping permanent housing at no more than 60% of local spending plans, forcing the states to start over with a new legal complaint assigned to the same federal judge.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner during the congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC.

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States push back

Last month, nearly two dozen states, including California, sued HUD over those regulations, asking McElroy to again throw out HUD’s new funding rules.

The proposed rules put more than 5,000 Angelenos at risk for homelessness, according to projections by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a nonprofit research and advocacy group.

The states hope for a ruling by Aug. 10, so that regions like L.A. have time to align their applications. The lawsuit argues the restrictions conflict with federal law and undermine the federal government's long-standing “housing first” strategy.

The Trump administration says the new rules are intended to move federal policy toward approaches emphasizing mental health treatment, addiction recovery and personal accountability.

If HUD prevails, local officials warn the consequences could ripple across L.A. County, affecting one of the region’s largest sources of funding for permanent supportive housing and other homelessness programs.

The federal funding at stake has been roughly a quarter of LAHSA’s annual budget in recent years and is among the largest single sources of money for the region’s homelessness programs, which are also funded by the state, county and city.

The story behind the Trump admin’s LAHSA fight

HUD imposed the suspension earlier this year amid mounting scrutiny of LAHSA's financial oversight and operations. Auditors and local officials have raised longstanding concerns about the agency’s internal controls, contract monitoring and oversight of homelessness funds.

LAHSA argues HUD's suspension is unlawful and could jeopardize the region's ability to secure funding.

On July 2, Carter directed HUD and LAHSA to propose an order to temporarily keep the current funding process in place while the case moves forward. The two sides couldn't agree on the terms.

LAHSA sent an email to service providers last week urging them to continue with the current process.

“Please do not let this notice disrupt your current application preparation,” the letter said. “We strongly urge all service providers to stay the course.”

Other regional homelessness officials clarified they’re moving forward with the consolidated application and working to protect existing program funding.

Sarah Mahin, director of L.A. County’s new Department of Homelessness and Housing, said the county expects to receive more direction from the court before or at the August 6 hearing. Until then, Mahin said, “The existing competition process and LAHSA’s role as collaborative applicant should remain undisturbed while the court considers the preliminary injunction motion.”

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter walks on a tour of the VA's West LA facilities on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 in West Los Angeles, CA.

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How the feds are planning for court decisions

In a July 21 court filing, HUD said it intends to delay any final action against the L.A. Continuum of Care until Aug. 10, or whenever the court rules on LAHSA’s request for a preliminary injunction.

HUD also said that if the suspension holds and LAHSA and the court determine local applicants must apply directly, the federal agency will give providers an additional 30 days to submit their applications.

Carter is also overseeing a major L.A. legal settlement stemming from a lawsuit by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights over the city and county’s response to the homelessness crisis. Carter ordered all of the parties in the Alliance settlement to also appear at the Aug. 6 hearing in the case between LAHSA and HUD.

How service providers are preparing

Homeless service providers, caught in the middle of HUD’s legal battles with LAHSA and with states, say they want to make sure services aren’t disrupted.

LAHSA’s own deadline for local homeless service providers to submit their individual applications as part of the collaborative application process was last week. More than 100 local nonprofit service providers have already submitted theirs.

Several organizations told LAist they’re prepared to submit applications directly to HUD, including Hope the Mission, a large homeless services provider operating primarily in the San Fernando Valley.

“While larger organizations have the administrative capacity to pivot quickly, we are concerned about smaller, specialized community providers who may struggle to navigate a direct HUD submission without localized technical assistance,” said Ivet Samvelyan, a vice president at Hope the Mission.

Service providers told LAist they’re watching the two court cases closely, and awaiting clearer guidance from local officials about what to do next.

“Our concern is less about the application process itself and more about the policy direction it represents, which is an attempt to take funding away from evidence-based practices such as permanent supportive housing and instead fund programs that require sobriety and compliance,” said Tian Martinez, a spokesperson at Union Station Homeless Services.

The Alhambra City Council voted unanimously Monday to put a measure on the November ballot that will ask local voters to ban data centers citywide.

Why it matters

If the measure passes, Alhambra could become the second city in California to pass a ban on data centers through a public vote.

In June, Monterey Park became the first city to pass such a ban.

The details

Council members previously voted to establish an official definition of what qualifies as a data center. At an earlier meeting last month, they also added data centers to a list of prohibited facilities in office and industrial zones.

The new ballot measure proposes expanding the prohibition. It would effectively ban data centers in all of the city.

Residents weigh in

Andrew Yip, an Alhambra resident and an organizer with the group SGV Progressive Action, spoke about the importance of ballot language during Monday’s council meeting.

Yip said the name of Monterey Park's June ballot measure — Measure NDC, which stood for "No Data Center" — left some data center opponents unsure about whether to vote yes or no.

“It was very confusing,” Yip said. “I encourage the city to consider a different acronym if possible, maybe BAN, so people know to vote yes on a ban.”

The backstory

Local citizens and groups like No Data Centers San Gabriel Valley and No Data Center in Monterey Park have been organizing to oppose the construction of data centers and other infrastructure that supports them, such as battery energy storage systems.

Plans for a proposed data center in Monterey Park were pulled in March, and the Covina Planning Commission voted down a proposed storage system in June following public input.

What’s next

Alhambra voters will decide the fate of data centers in the city in the general election on Nov. 3. The ban needs a simple majority of support from local voters in order to pass.

How to keep tabs on the Alhambra City Council

The Alhambra City Council tends to meet a few times per month, generally on Mondays. Meetings typically start at 6 p.m.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The council meets at City Hall, Council Chambers, 111 S. First St., Alhambra.
• Watch the live broadcast.
• Here’s how to submit a comment or contact the council.

Long Beach has a fluffy new resident.

Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick born this spring, made a splashy debut at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Thursday. He’s the first chick raised and displayed at the aquarium in eight years.

The three-month-old male chick hatched on May 9, weighing about 2.5 ounces. He’s the first offspring of Kate and Robbie, two Magellanic penguins rescued by the aquarium after being stranded along the coast of Brazil in 2010.

“To see a chick hatch from them is very exciting, and it’s a great full circle moment for us,” said Ashley Loper, an aviculturist who has closely monitored Ari’s development at the aquarium.

Ari is the result of a cooperative breeding program aimed at maintaining genetic diversity and health in zoos and aquariums.

Magellanic penguins are not endangered, but their numbers have decreased significantly in recent years due to climate change and overfishing.

Ashley Loper, an aviculturist at the Aquarium of the Pacific, helped raise Ari, a Magellanic penguin chick. Here, she feeds him at the aquarium on Thursday.

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“It’s very important that we have this backup population in case things were to get worse out in the wild,” aquarium CEO and President Jeffrey Flocken said.

Magellanic penguins are medium-sized birds with distinctive black-and-white bands that wrap around their heads and chests. They’re native to the arid coastlines of Argentina and Chile. Colonies usually settle around beaches to build nests for their chicks.

Like Magellanic penguins in the wild, Ari spent his earliest weeks under the watchful care of his parents. Once he was large enough, Ari was moved to a behind-the-scenes nursery, where aquarium staff monitored his development and introduced him to swimming.

Now, he’s out on display with fellow members of the Magellanic penguin colony.

People watch the penguins at the Aquarium of the Pacific on Thursday. Magellanic penguins build nests on beaches, and this area of the aquarium is intended to simulate that environment.

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Sena Chang

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LAist

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On Thursday, Ari partook in his first feeding with the entire colony. Megan Smylie, the sea otter program manager, said Ari is integrating nicely into the group, and he is expected to reach adult size soon.

In the aquarium’s opening minutes, the energetic penguin kept darting back and forth in front of the display, impressing visitors. Still developing his swimming muscles, Ari occasionally lagged behind when the older penguins glided through the water together, and he kept paddling determinedly to catch up.

“It’s actually amazing to see,” said Kris Laidlaw, a visitor who stopped by the aquarium on her way to LAX on Thursday morning. “You don’t see this very often anywhere, and it’s a lot cheaper than going to the wild to see them.”

Ari takes a swim on Thursday, his first day in the public eye at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

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Sena Chang

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LAist

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Visitors can now see Ari and the rest of the Magellanic penguin colony in the June Keyes Penguin Habitat during regular aquarium hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those unable to visit in person can watch Ari through the live webcam.

Ari can be identified by his light gray plumage and small stature. For now.

“That baby chick is growing fast at this point,” Flocken said. “It’s almost the same size as adults. So I would say, come soon.”